SWISS offers its cabin personnel more salary, better plannability and more individual options in new collective labour agreement

SWISS and kapers, the union of the company’s cabin personnel, have jointly devised a new collective labour agreement (CLA) which features numerous improvements. All SWISS cabin crew members will have their full-time basic monthly salary increased by CHF 400. The new accord also incorporates a 2% inflation-based salary adjustment and an increase in expenses rates. SWISS is also investing in the quality of life of its cabin personnel with the new CLA. Cabin crew members will receive their monthly rosters earlier than before and will also be assigned seven fixed free days every month. The agreement further offers new part-time employment models, such as for parents or students. Cabin crew members will also be able to choose in future between a partial 13^th monthly salary payment and variable compensation based on the company’s business success. SWISS will be investing some CHF 200 million in its cabin staff’s employment terms and conditions via the new CLA over the next five years. The members of kapers will now vote by 19 December on whether to accept the new CLA24 accord.

Swiss International Air Lines (SWISS) has concluded a new collective labour agreement (CLA) with kapers, the union of its cabin personnel. Following intensive negotiations, both parties are convinced that they have forged a new accord which will substantially improve the employment terms and conditions of the company’s cabin crew members.

“This is a top priority for me, as we are very keen to also conclude an agreement for our shared future with our biggest personnel group,” says SWISS CEO Dieter Vranckx. “So I am delighted that we now have a collective labour agreement which represents a genuine investment in our cabin crew corps and delivers tangible added value for everyone involved.” SWISS will be investing some CHF 200 million in the new CLA over the next five years. “The new accord doesn’t just raise the salaries of our more than 3,500 cabin crew members,” Vranckx continues. “It addresses their individual needs better than before, and in doing so helps to enhance their quality of life.”

Higher basic salaries, results-sharing options and new part-time employment models

Under the new CLA, all SWISS cabin crew members will have their full-time basic monthly salary increased by CHF 400. The new accord also incorporates a 2% inflation-based salary adjustment which already came into effect on 1 January 2023. The new remuneration package additionally offers SWISS’s cabin personnel a choice of further remuneration options from their third year of service onwards: they can elect to receive a guaranteed partial 13^th monthly salary, or opt instead for a results-linked variable compensation component.

SWISS is also investing in the quality of life of its cabin crew members with the new CLA. Their monthly duty rosters will be published one week earlier, on the 18^th of the previous month, to help them better plan their social lives. They will also be assigned seven fixed free days in each monthly roster. In a further innovation, SWISS’s cabin staff will now be remunerated for their standby duties, too. The new CLA also addresses cabin crew members’ various individual needs, by offering new part-time working models with more variable degrees of employment, more flexible switching possibilities in the course of a year and a wider range of duty relief options for older personnel.

In line with kapers regulations, the new CLA will now be subjected to a 15-day consultation period which begins today. After this, kapers members will vote between 25 November and 19 December 2023 on whether to accept the new CLA. If approved, the new CLA24 will then enter into effect on 1 January 2024.